Perceous Ungarrth: Tale of The Fallen Thunder
by Jay-Bradley
Summary: Need help on story. PM for planned story points. Original title: Fairy Tail: Tales of The Fallen Thunder. OCxLucy
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Wanted: The Lightning Thief

Magnolia, Fiore, Earthland, X791

Fairy Tail had finally come home after winning the Grand Magic Games, reinstating them as the top guild in Fiore. "We're home!" they all yelled bursting into the guild hall  
"Haha! I knew we would win from the start!" confidently said Natsu  
"Who's up for a victory pint! On me!" shouted a cheerful Makarov. And soon, the guild went back to its normal self. Gray and Natsu started to fight, Juvia had another daydream about her and Gray (more like several), Vijeeter started doing one of his weird dances, Cana challenged Erza to a drinking contest but instead, Erza slammed Gray and Natsu's heads together to stop them fighting and Happy tried to get Carla to like him but Carla just sighed and said to herself  
"Oh brother!" all was normal in Fairy Tail.

3 days passed and soon a job came up that caught Erza's attention. She walked right over to Natsu and Lucy, who were sitting at a table, and slammed the job poster onto the table "Waaa!" screamed Lucy in a jump of fright  
"Whoa! Erza, what's got you in a bad mood?" asked Natsu, but instead of telling him, she gave him the classic Erza Stare "Nevermind, nevermind" said Natsu in fear  
"Anyway, take a look at this you two" said Erza, pointing at the job poster, which was to capture a criminal who was wanted for stealing.  
"Hu? A request?" he then read out what the information said on the poster, and it read:

**Wanted**  
Name: Unknown, eye witnesses claim him to be: The Lightning Thief  
Wanted for: Stealing the following: A pack of tofu, 3 carrots, 1 leek and 200 Jewel  
Reward for Capture: 1,000 Jewel

It also featured a picture of a man fully masked with a black hood and a mask which look like it had only two small slits at the eyes, so you could barely make out who it was. "So, we now forced to capture a masked man going around and stealing what looks like other people's groceries?" laughed Natsu  
"Yeah Erza, I don't think it's very important at the moment because, well, just look at what he stole" stated Lucy, as she read out what the thief stole. Erza went into deep thought for a moment, and thought to herself  
_"Criminals must always be brought to justice, but considering what he stole, the request does make Fiore's guards look lazy, plus he could have only done this once" _during her thought, Gray appeared and stated he overheard the trio speaking and said that the request didn't need a reward for his capture. "Ok, we shall ignore this request for now, lets just hope he doesn't do it again" said Erza and soon everyone went back to normal.

One and a half weeks later, Erza's wish that this Lightning Thief wouldn't strike again, just fell apart into a million pieces because this time on the poster it said:

**Wanted**  
Name: Now confirmed to be: The Lightning Thief  
Wanted for: Stealing the following: 4,231,900 Jewel from a wealthy home in Magnolia, 32,600 Jewel from a wealthy store in Magnolia, 3 packs of tofu, 20 carrots, 3 leeks, 1 bottle of soy sauce and a few sprigs of thyme  
Reward for Capture: 2,000,000 Jewel

And the same picture of the fully masked man that appeared in the other poster, was the picture in this job poster. Team Natsu couldn't ignore it this time, it was time to bring this thief to justice.

In Magnolia City Centre, Team Natsu's: Erza, Gray, Lucy, Happy and Natsu, began their search for this masked criminal "Ok, listen up! The thief has got to be around Magnolia, so we need to be on our guard at all times. To find him faster, we'll split into teams; Happy and Lucy, your one team. Gray and Natsu, your another. I shall search for him, alone. If you find him, contact each other on these" she then handed out small, miniature sized communication lacrimas "We have our objectives, lets find this man, move out" and they all went to search the whole of Magnolia.

Nighttime came, Team Nastu eventually regrouped, unfortunately not finding anything "It's no use, he doesn't seem to be in Magnolia" stated Happy  
"Yeah Erza, can we give this up and go home now? I'm starving" asked Natsu  
"No! Not until we-!" replied Erza. She was interrupted, however, by the sound of a rooftop tile smashing on the ground which caught the group of five's attention "Stay alert!" Erza demanded "He could finally be here" she added.

The group swiveled their heads on as much as their necks could support, watching their surroundings like a hawk eyeing out for it's prey. And pretty soon, their patience was rewarded as Happy decided to fly into the sky and act like a real hawk and soon enough found their target "I see him!" cried Happy

They all look in the direction that Happy was pointing out to them and saw a dark figure on the rooftop that the tile had fell from "Hey! Are you The Lightning Thief?" Erza shouted to the figure, but instead of replying it ran away into the night from them "Quick, after him!" demanded Erza and soon, Team Nastu were pursuing the dark figure they suspected to be The Lightning Thief.

The figure started to climb up and run along walls as well as rolling every time he landed off a rooftop and was sprinting with incredible swiftness. Happy decided to fly up and carry Lucy so she could summon one of her spirits when he dropped her in front of him. But it was a decision he was soon regretting "Lucy, what on Earth have you been eating? You're really heavy" asked Happy in pain  
"Hey, why don't you shut your trap, cat! I'm a perfect weight!" argued Lucy. The man they were chasing however heard their bickering and soon caught on of what they were trying to do. So to prevent them, he charged a little bolt of lightning, which oddly was black outlined and blue in colour, and zapped the two of them just enough to make Happy fall out of the sky and drop Lucy at the same time.  
"Happy! Lucy!" shouted Natsu, who swiftly caught them in the nick of time. The group then agreed to let Lucy look after an unconscious Happy while the rest hunted for the man they were after.

Their chase soon lead them into an old, 5 storey, derelict building that look as if it was on its last legs. Team Natsu quickly hatched a plan to corner the masked thief and capture him. They set their plan into motion by hiding on a third floor corridor that faced the main hall of the building and the man fell straight into their trap "No where to run now, pal!" confidently claimed Gray who was blocking his path back where he came from.

The man froze and turned his head in all directions until he sprinted towards Natsu and Erza, who were on the opposite side, jumping on their heads, getting 2 old-looking knifes out from his sheath and jumped for the banner flag that hung from the ceiling and thrusted his knifes into it. He swung on the flag, grappling onto his knifes tight, as if he was Tarzan and the flag as his jungle vine. He then quickly released one of his knifes from it and, from his hand, produced a long strand of lightning that attached to the knife as if it were a piece of rope and threw it at the top balcony floor that was the direct opposite of Natsu and co. and soon it was stuck onto that very floor and acted very much similar to a grappling hook as his knifes were almost in the shape of hooks.

While this was happening however, Natsu, Erza and Gray were all trying to make the flag fall by using their magic. But each time their magic got close, it always seemed to miss.

With the momentum of the flag swaying him forwards and backwards, he soon seemed to absorb the lightning rope. Since his knife was stuck, the man was propelled towards the knife and 5th floor balcony with incredible speed.

"He's getting away!" shouted Gray  
"Oh really freeze-brain? I thought he was coming this way to say hello!" sarcastically replied an annoyed Natsu  
"Stop your arguing and let's capture him!" demanded Erza and the trio sped off to capture the criminal.

The thief maneuverered his way effortlessly through the rubble that was in one of its many corridors, vaulting and flipping over the ruins of the corridor all the time flowing through them as if he himself was a bolt of lightning. He soon got to the end of the corridor, blasted a hole in the roof and leaping into the outside world which had just turned the sky into a beautiful early sunrise, with no sign of Team Natsu.

The man soon took his mask off as he walked to the edge of the building. His mask was actually a black skin-tight scarf-like band of fabric that covered his face and a black assassin's hood that almost covered his eyes and a portion of his nose. When he removed his mask, long jet black hair flicked outwards to reveal he had his hair in a spiked fashion that was in the shape of a crescent moon at the back and at the front, two spiked curtains on either side of his head with a small spiked fringe. His eyes slim and had a single black line on both eyes going from the top point of his cheeks to his eyebrows. His eyebrows where also very thin.

His skin was an almost ghost white colour and his eyes a piecing blue. His head was square to start with but came to a point at his chin.

The Lightning Thief then began to speak to himself "So, The Lightning Thief..., that is the new alias that Fiore has named me? It is most certainly a most unwelcome title. I only wish one day Fiore could open it's eyes to my true motives" but he then turned his attention to his satchel that he was carrying on his back and began to inspect the inside "Let us see what will be going to them today" after a quick inspection on how much money was in the bag he added relieved "This is a satisfactory amount, they will be able to eat tonight"

Just as he was about to set off Team Natsu finally caught him and cornered him "Think you could get away from Fairy Tail?" confidently asked Natsu  
"Hand over what you stole and turn yourself in Lightning Thief!" Demanded Erza  
"It appears that I would be in a slight predicament, though I am very much with regret going to have to decline your demand. As you see this money is not for me but for a better cause than being locked in a safe for an unknown period of time" he then later added "And please do not refer to me as this new alias, I would much prefer to be named Perceous, Perceous Ungarrth"

Frustrated looks then appeared across the trio's faces at Perceous's statement. They had hoped not to use violence but it seemed necessary to capture and restrain Perceous. "We are Fairy Tail, I am-..." Perceous interrupted them  
"I know too well your names..., Erza Scarlet, Titania... Natsu Dragneel, Salamander... and Gray Fullbuster, Fairy Tail's Ice Wizard. Each one of you is unique, an admirable quality although as I said beforehand, I shall resist arrest" He the prepared himself for combat by attaining a perfect mantis stance, while Natsu and co. acquired their normal positions for combat.

His attire and whole body appearance was an old black short sleeved shirt with one sleeve torn off by the looks of things, the black mask he used that was now covering his neck, tatty-old looking black trousers, a worn and torn black waist cape and black pointed one inch heeled shoes. He was also muscle built but at the same time looked very unhealthily skinny.

Natsu rushed in and made the first attack on Perceous, who was just standing extremely still and not moving a muscle. Natsu tried a flame fist attack, but it was straight away blocked by Perceous by only his index finger. Perceous then counter-acted by performing various Kung-Fu techniques and finished with a Thunder Charge. This sent Natsu flying across to the other side of the building. "Why you!" angrily called Natsu  
"Gray, Natsu, I have a plan!" stated Erza

They all huddled together and discussed the plan. Perceous was kind enough to let them finish and only when they said they where ready did he resume.

"Ice Make: Sword" called out Gray. Gray swooped in for an attack but once again, Perceous blocked it. Now the team set their plain into motion. With Gray distracting Perceous, Erza and Natsu could attack at the same time which they did. Unfortunately Perceous managed to somehow know it was coming and dodged out of the way.

He then acquired a different stance. Feet shoulder width apart and a flat left palm with his four fingers shaping a V in the middle and thumb out, one of the two fingers pointing at Erza, the other at Gray and his thumb to Natsu "Gu Mme Na Sa Toro: Electric Impulse!" he incarnated as he swung his fist around and slammed it onto his fist, causing the magic energy to spread outwards along his fingers and thumb hitting all three at once.

Just as Erza rose up into the sky in her Heaven's Wheel Armour, Lucy and Happy found them "Natsu! Gray! Erza! You ok?!"shouted Lucy as she climbed up the hole Perceous had made.  
"We're struggling to lay a single hit on this guy!" complained Gray

However as soon as Perceous's eyes turned to see who else had joined the fiery, he was shock and amazed at what he saw. To him, Lucy seemed to a beauty far from comparison to any other woman alive. His heart began to race and pound like the rapid beat of a song. He continued to stare at what he had just laid eyes upon and all of time felt slow all of a sudden. Lucy and Perceous's eyes then suddenly met each others gaze only making the feelings more desirable to want. Just staring into her eyes made Perceous almost forget about everything around him.

Erza saw this and rose to the opportunity now her opponent was off-guard. She attempted her Trinity Sword attack on Perceous.

Direct hit! Perceous was snapped out of his daydream and flew halfway across the roof. He was down but not for long. The attack had weakened him but not too much damage was done. Perceous got back up and soon stated to everyone "You cannot harm what you cannot see! Lightning Hidden!" he then went into the position for the hidden spell and with a flash of a lightning bolt on Perceous, he disappeared into thin air.

Erza had now floated back down from where she was hovering from and joined Natsu and Gray where they were both standing. "I'll help too!" said Lucy reaching for her keys  
"No! Stay there Lucy! You don't know where he could be" Ordered Natsu. The trio's heads all span to see if they could see him but soon decided to give up after 5 minutes after coming to the conclusion he ran off.

But as their backs were turned a flash of lightning appeared behind them and Perceous had returned into sight "Look out!" shouted Happy and Lucy, but they were too late to warn them. Perceous quickly overpowered the three mages with his martial arts skills and stunned them all with his lightning.

Lucy prepared herself to summon Loke in order to protect her friends, but much to her and the others surprise Perceous did not finish them off, he helped them up on their feet by gesturing his hand out to Nastu, Gray and Erza "You fought well my friends, I must admire your courage, determination and initiative to dealing with quick decisions. Most like your individual qualities they are all admirable in their own unique way" congratulated Perceous

Team Natsu however just wanted to get the request over and done with, especially Natsu "Ok, enough with the lectures can we have the money back please?" impatiently said Natsu. Perceous then entered into a deep thought and re-emerged saying this  
"I do not wish to give this money to the people sent to hunt me down...but I am always willing to negotiate an acceptable amount" he stated

After some quick negotiation, Perceous handed over half of what he stole to Team Natsu and was given certain conditions in order for them to stay silent about what had just transpired. He thanked them for their kindness "I greatly thank you for allowing me to roam freely once more, I shall never forget your kindness" he then bided a farewell before adding just as he was about to jump over the side "I hope we shall meet again another time, under..., different circumstances"

He then jumped off the edge and the same strand of lightning fled out of his hand and onto one of his knifes and grappled onto the next building, he then ran into Magnolia a free man as Team Natsu watched him leave.

* * *

**Chapter**** Epilogue**

Three days had pasted since that event and Team Natsu were nearing the guild "Man, I'm worn out! I haven't been on a mission like that since, well..., three days ago with that guy...what was his name again, was it Parus? Perrucks?" asked Natsu  
"I have no idea Natsu, but I wish I could of seen him, he sounds mysterious!" said Wendy. Just then Master Makarov walked out the main entrance  
"Ah! I was wondering when you lot would show up. Anyway, how did the request go?"  
"It was..., eventful...shall we say Master" replied Erza  
"Very well. Anyhow, we have a new member joining our guild please treat him well! Oh..., damn what's his name again?"  
"I believe Master the name you require is Perceous" replied a shockingly recognisable voice as it was Perceous himself standing in the doorway with the Fairy Tail symbol on his forehead, gold outlined and white in colour.

Natsu and the rest were all shocked at what they were seeing in front of them. The same criminal from three days ago had now joined their guild. There was soon an awkward silence but it did not last long because of Perceous bowing and stating "I will be most pleased to be of any service within acceptable reasons and I hope we can forge a bond stronger than the gods force that holds Earthland and Edolas in place"

Everyone was still too shocked to say anything, but Natsu was the first to say "Well this will only make Fairy Tail stronger, haha!" and soon everyone else came to their senses  
"I agree" said Erza  
"Heck, count me in!" Confidently said Gray  
"It's nice to have you here Perceous, I hope you feel welcome" said Lucy and Wendy. And soon all of them went inside the guild hall to have a welcome party for Perceous.

* * *

**Hey Jay here :)**

**Just to say if you don't know how to say Perceous's names here's a key on how to say them both:**

**Perceous is just my spelling of the Greek demi-god Perseus. It is also said in the same way (Per-sea-us).**

**Ungarrth, his second name, is said like so (Un-gar-th) could not be simpler.**

**That is all**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, Jay here.**

**Sorry about this chapter taking so long to complete I was suffering from terrible writers block and heavy procrastination.**

**Anyhow hope you enjoy this latest chapter of Perceous's story and as always..., have nice day.**

* * *

Chapter 2:

The City of the Downtrodden, Part 1

It was two days since Perceous joined Fairy Tail and he had already made a huge impact on the guild. He once helped Mirajane with the serving of drinks and assisted Team Natsu in a few small missions, one of which entailed them taking a cart of supplies to a newly deployed Fiore Army outpost in the Mt. Hakobe mountain range and for obvious reasons, Perceous had to hide his identity from the guards as at this current time he was still on Fiore's most wanted list.

He even began to prepare and cook very nutritious meals for anyone who wanted one, and as soon as a single little morsel touched a single taste bud of a guild member's tongue they would simply melt on how good his cooking was and how moreish and flavoursome his food seemed. The only few that were yet to try some of this cuisine fit for the gods was Lucy, Happy and Natsu.

It was daytime and Lucy was walking through Magnolia Town, making her way towards the guild hall. As she was walking however, among the many thoughts that lingered in her mind one seemed to creep up out of the blue. She then though to herself _"Perceous has been a big help to us, despite him being a wanted criminal. I will admit he does seem to know how to take care of himself, yet however...I just don't know whether or not to trust him yet because he is a thief and he even acts almost like an assassin...I really don't know..."_

She debated this in her mind until she got to the guild hall. She was surprised however that she found on a lone table a note with Lucy's name written in very decorative, elegant handwriting and what seemed to be a plate full with breakfast treats and delights that were just mouth-watering to look at _"It's a wonder Erza hasn't got to this yet" _thought Lucy.

She picked up and opened the note to reveal a message written in the same handwriting. The message read:

_"Dear,  
My good friend, Lucy_

_I have taken the liberty of my hours to prepare you some little early morning delights for your breakfast.  
__They are all handmade by myself and I do hope you enjoy them.  
This is only a short note as I have already left to prepare for an operation I am carrying out in Magnolia later this evening.  
Anyhow, I fully hope you enjoy these treats and I shall see you another time._

_From  
Perceous"_

"F-For...me?" Lucy said stunned. No one had really had done this for her before. She looked around before attempting to take a seat.

Just as she was about to sit down to enjoy the breakfast Perceous cooked for her, Happy came over and distracted her for a minute. Then, unbeknownst to Lucy, a masculine hand slid from under the table out of the shadows and managed to grab every single item of food there was to offer. Then the hand slid back under the table and then Natsu burst up from underneath the table with a few of the treats in his mouth and a few in his hands shouting to Happy muffled "I got them Happy!" and the twosome ran off away from Lucy who chased after them shouting  
"NATSU! HAPPY! GET BACK HERE WITH MY BREAKFAST!"

Lucy continued to chase the duo until they arrived at Natsu and Happy's house and shut the door on her. This made her slam her whole body and face into the door as it was shut just as Happy and Natsu made it inside with Lucy almost doing the same.

After giving up on chasing the two she made her way back to the guild hall, stomach growling like a wild tiger. "Why does Natsu always have to steal my food?" Lucy groaned as she gripped her stomach in pain as it gurgled "What am I going to eat now and what am I going to tell Perceous if he asks?" she added in pain.

As soon as she got back to the guild hall she was greeted by Erza who was sat at a table eating a light snack for her own breakfast. Despite the fact it was a light snack there was enough for two people. Lucy went over to her "Hey Erza" Erza looked up at Lucy  
"Oh, hello Lucy" Erza then noticed Lucy was in pain and clutching her stomach "What seems to be the matter?" she asked  
"Natsu stole the breakfast Perceous made me" she groaned and complained.

Erza went into a brief thought and then asked "Would you like some of mine? There's enough for two" Lucy then thanked her and took the item of food out of Erza's hand when she passed it to her and sat down opposite Erza.

The two then discussed about Perceous "So, Lucy, what do you think to Perceous then? I remember during our mission he couldn't take his eyes off you until I attacked him" Lucy went into a little thought for a brief moment before saying  
"If I'll be honest, I don't know whether or not to trust him yet..., I mean, him making me a breakfast for no reason...it just feels, odd for me..."  
"Maybe he likes you Lucy" teasingly chuckled Erza  
"That's defiantly not the case! Sure he's nice and we're friends but it's defiantly not like that!" replied Lucy in an outburst of annoyance  
"Oh! I seemed to of struck a nerve..., maybe you like him Lucy" teased Erza.

Lucy couldn't help but blush and shake her head violently in refusal, causing Erza to chuckle more. The two then went on eating and chatting until they had finished their breakfasts and then went to see what to do today.

The clock had just struck 11:00pm and Lucy was making her way home after eventually finding Natsu and Happy and giving them a scolding for stealing her breakfast. She was just on the street that was next to the little green area with the lone tree when she looked up and saw someone jump onto a rooftop, holding what seemed to be an old leather bag, carrying about 400 Jewel and a few vegetables.

_"Hu, looks like he doesn't want to stop this act anytime soon"_ thought Lucy. The figure then seemed to look down on Lucy and then jumped down nearly directly in front of her. It was Perceous, he took off his mask, looked at Lucy and then apologised to her by saying  
"I am very truly sorry Lucy, but I cannot cease my acts of theft, not until I win the never-ending war of my people and the enslavers" this stumped Lucy  
"Never-ending war? The enslavers? Are you making this up Perceous? What's the real reason? If you have a home and everything, why do you keep stealing?"

Perceous then closed his eyes and looked down to his feet. He then opened his eyes again and looked back at Lucy and said "I imagined you and the others would of been mistrustful of me Lucy, a common thief who so happens to suddenly be a member of Fairy Tail, a very harmful image to the guild you could agree. But my thefts must continue in order for my people to live on. If you still do not have trust in what I am saying then come with me, I shall show you my true motives"

Lucy stood stop still for a brief moment, thinking whether or not to go with him as Perceous held out his hand. She then decided to grab his hand. Perceous nodded to ask her if she was ready, to which she nodded back. Perceous then held his free hand up to the sky, flat and closed his eyes. He instructed Lucy to do the same. As soon as she did a bolt of blue coloured and black outlined lightning came down from the heavens and hit the two and then absorbed them both as it went back into the sky.

About one mile away from Magnolia in the green fields, the same bolt of lightning that appeared in Magnolia struck down next to what seemed to be a manhole cover. When the bolt of lightning cleared it revealed Perceous and Lucy in the same positions they were in when the lightning bolt struck them in Magnolia. The two then attained their normal postures and Perceous said to Lucy "Welcome to my reasoning for stealing" Lucy thought  
_"Where in Earthland are we?"_

He lifted the manhole cover up and placed it to one side to reveal a dark hole with a ladder inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, ready for some more Tale of The Fallen Thunder? **

**Well here it is!**

**Sorry it took some time to complete, some stuff happened in my life that got in the way of writing this and on top of that i have had one heck of a writer's block. (DAMN YOU WRITER'S BLOCK! WHHHYYY!). Also, you better stick around for the next chapter if your an action lover, but you've been warned for this chapter because I think it's one of many feels chapters that I plan to do than anything else...**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy the latest chapter, and as always, have nice day!**

* * *

Chapter 3

The City of the Downtrodden, Part 2

Lucy and Perceous made their way down the deep, dark hole. It seemed to go on forever to Lucy but eventually they made it inside a small room with nothing but an old, rusty looking bank vault door on one side of the room and the ladder Perceous and Lucy had just climbed down on the opposite side. Lucy asked "Perceous, where are we?"  
"My reasoning for the thefts I commit, that is where we are..." replied Perceous as he walked up to the door.

He then stopped and asked "Lucy...may I ask of you a favour? It is very important that you accept"  
"Umm...o-ok...what is it?" replied Lucy who was now getting suspicious of Perceous  
"My favour..., is that you do not react to or rebel against anything that may occur around you..., by all means observe your surroundings but by any means necessary...do not react to or rebel against anything that may occur around you" he then added "Do you accept?"

Lucy was very confused at this, questions buzzed inside her head frantically, _"What does he mean? Is he going to kidnap me? Or torcher me? I-I-I...I don't know what to do..., what should I do?"_ she thought. Despite all these questions she knew that there was only one way to answer all these questions. So she then decided "Ok Perceous, you have my word" Perceous replied by nodding back to Lucy, acknowledging her answer.

Preceous then turned his attention back to the door. He knocked on the rusty, old vault door, with one second intervals between each knock. After the knocks a small peep hole slid open and two eyes then appeared and glared at the two, the voice that belonged to the pair of eyes then spoke "Ah, look what came crawling back! And it brought some company...a sexy one too, hahaha!"  
"Please may you grant us entry...?" calmly and almost quitely asked Perceous  
The guard replied evilly "Y'know Perceous..., you always seem to leave but you always keep crawling back to this rubbish dump, mind you, you actually belong here, you are a maggot aren't you? Hahaha!" the guard then added arrogantly "Get your sorry self in here, and try not to do anything stupid like last time, or else...!"

The peep hole then slid shut again before the cranking and grinding of the old, rusty vault door opening. As they entered the guard they talked to on the other side of the door said to them "The Boss will come to you're place soon, I hope you have our rent this time, hahaha! Or this sexy lady of yours could be your rent...?" the guard then started pulling pelvic thrusts in Lucy's direction, to which however she ignored as instructed by Perceous.

The two the carried on walking in the environment they were now in, much to Lucy's horror.

The place they were now in had shacks made of different materials and were all unbalanced to the point that they look as if they could collapse at any second. The streets and roads were actually made of a mixture of dirt and waste and each time you made a false step, some of the waste and dirt would mess up your footwear, that left a fowl stench afterwards. The streets were uneven, some flat some on hills and some on very steep slopes.

As well as this some of them were also very narrow while others were very wide. The only light they had was an artificial sun using a lacrima and a very complex mirror system which bounced natural sunlight into the contraption that held the artificial sun to power the lacrima, thus, giving light to the area. The people there looked as if they hadn't changed or washed their clothing or themselves for weeks, some even months. Some of these people were also very much malnourished.

Perceous then spoke to Lucy "Lucy..., This place...is the City of the Downtrodden..., or...The Forgotten City..., but everyone here knows it as the Magnolia Slums"

They then saw a man being forcibly dragged out of his home by three well-dressed men in tuxedos. The man was shouting "I will not let you harm my family, just because you lot want your taxes!" as he was now being restrained by two of the men. One of them just got out a cattle prod and said bitterly to him "Shut up you filthy animal!" and then he stabbed him with the cattle prod, causing the man to cry out in pain.

Lucy just observed in shock and absolute horror. Perceous then added "It is the city..., where those who dare to speak out..., are punished..."

They carried onward and they soon came across a homeless beggar asking for Jewel, but very soon, some more men dressed in the same outfits as the others that were punishing the out-speaker had found the beggar, kicked his bowl over and when the beggar reached for it, one of the two men did the same as the group of three did earlier except with a high voltage Taser.

Perceous added "And it is where those who dare to dream of freedom and hope..., eventually find nothing to hope for..."

Lucy was in much shock and horror, she was speechless. Perceous then broke the silence between them "Lucy..., you wanted to know why I stole...well..., before you lies your answer, I commit these acts of theft in order for these people, my people...to have a little spark of hope and faith, so that one day we may rise up and revolt against The Enslavers. We are all very fortuneless, Lucy..., so do we not deserve true happiness and freedom...?"

They came to the end of a street just as Perceous finished his statement. Lucy then summoned some breath and spoke for the first time since she entered Magnolia Slums and asked "W-Who were those people in the suits?" Perceous stopped. He replied

"Those people Lucy..., are the enslavers of my people. They are known as the Scar Fire Magnolia Mafia...a mafia guild..., they control this entire city and they like to think that they are our saviours...to us however..., we see it as a reign of oppression and tyranny. To them though, whenever we revolt against them, our methods of retaliation to said tyranny..., are nothing more than an illusion that can easily be unseen..., thus we can not react or retaliate to anything that they speak...we are all forced to live in fear. It is this I and my people all around me secretly oppose..., and to further convince you Lucy to my cause..., I shall show you my own residence"

They then entered a medium sized alleyway with two other short alleyways connected to it one with a bend in its path. The one they had entered had a simple large cardboard square piece in the centre of the alleyway and a very basic and simple cooker at the end of it, another alleyway that was connected to the other had another piece of what look like the same piece of cardboard as the one in the centre but this one had a lone pillow and a blanket on it.

"Welcome to my home Lucy" said Perceous, leaving Lucy in disbelief at his living conditions.  
_"H-How can he live like this...?"_ She thought.

As Lucy was thinking this Perceous had got the bag from his back and took out one carrot, he grabbed a small pan and placed it on the cooker. He then got out a small piece of wood and grabbed one of his knifes and then used it on the carrot, chopping it up into little bite-sized chunks. He did the same to two medium sized leeks and put both the chopped carrot and leeks into the pan. He then ignited the cooker by zapping it with a little spark of super-heated lightning, which in turn, began cooking the vegetables.

He turned to Lucy and sat down on the cardboard in the centre of the 'hallway' and ushered Lucy to sit opposite him "The meal will be ready in a brief moment, please, take a seat" He said happily. When she did however she could not get comfortable at all "I am very aware it is not quite comfortable, but it is certainly better than a bare floor, especially one such as this"

Lucy finally managed to get comfortable somehow and began to ask the questions that were currently on her mind "Perceous...?" she asked  
"Yes, what is it you wish to enquire?" asked Perceous, who was sitting in a very much Japanese etiquette fashion  
"Well..., it's just...what strikes me as..., odd, is that you steal so much money sometimes..., but yet you live like this. My only question is..., why?"

Perceous dipped his head down to his feet and then look back up again, after which he replied "It may surprise you Lucy..., but I choose these living conditions myself...True, with the vast magnitude of riches I purloin, one might be increasingly curious on my motives for living in beggarly conditions..., to which, the answer is simple...I have no true motive for living like this, but in fact the truth this is no more than a case of personal preference...My life is far less valuable than those of my fellow people, comrades and friends, that is how I see the world"

This puzzled Lucy, why on earth would someone choose to live like this just for the sake of others and make his or her own life seem so meaningless? She decided to question him further "Perceous, if I can ask..., why do you see your own life to be less important? And...I know it's your own choice, but still, someone with that kind of money would at least have a decent house...so..., why don't you?"

Perceous nodded his head to show he had took the question into consideration and replied with his answer "My answer to both is simple...For your first question, my answer, is a question itself" He paused for a brief few seconds before adding

"Picture a scene..., there are two individuals, one of which is you, and you and the other, who is a complete stranger to yourself, are sat at a table with two cups in front of you. One cup contains drinkable water, the other, a colourless and odourless poison. You are doing this because the two of you fell into this place and only one can make it out alive. If you flat out refuse the task you are both immediately executed. You have many options around this situation, I shall give you the options that I will be able to see what morality you truly are..."

The choices were: Mix the two cups into one cup and drink the concoction, leave it to blind luck, refuse the task, and mix the two cups into one and force the other person to drink it.

Lucy, even through as much thought as she could muster, could not think of an answer. She instead asked Perceous "Since I can't think of an answer, may I ask what you would do Perceous?" Perceous replied  
"For me...the choice is simple. I would choose the first option every time..., but then it also depends if the person I am faced with is benignant and favoring, evenhanded and inert or corrupt and damnable" He took a brief pause as he served up his dinner of the vegetables that were frying in the pan even offering Lucy some to her decline, before asking "Is there anything else you'd like to have knowledge of?"

Lucy was starting to make sense of the situation. Perceous would give his own life in order to save another, a truly selfless act in the eyes of most people. There was only one question however that was still in her mind "Yes, I'd like to know if you steal so much...what do you really do with all of it?" Perceous stopped eating while he answered the question  
"The money I claim for my thefts is given to my fellow people and yes...I keep some for myself, but only enough to get along...And even then..., times can be difficult" He then put his food to one side before saying "But this life comes with a price..., I have had to make many sacrifices in order to do what is right for my people...Allow me to present them to you...Will you?

Lucy agreed and Perceous took off his shirt. Lucy didn't react because all the while Perceous was showing extreme seriousness as he removed his shirt. And what it revealed was something that no one could prepare for...

When his sirt was removed, you could clearly see Perceous was quite muscular but also very much anorexic as you could see his entire rib cage and spine. Another thing no one happened to noticed was how slim his forearms were. Perceous looked very malnourished and worn. And on his abdomen, he had scars the shape of letters of the alphabet spelling out words, they read...'Scar Fire Magnolia M'. He also had a slash scar going from his liver to his underarm.

Lucy went into complete shock. _"O-Oh my...What have they done to him?!"_ She thought. Perceous just by taking a short glimpse at her could tell what she was thinking  
"Lucy...I now hope you now understand the grim reality of this selfless beggar's chosen path of destiny. Each letter scar represents something that the person has committed that The Enslavers find to be incorrect...Which happens to be many things...You are allowed twenty letters..., gain the twenty first..., and may thou rest peacefully in the divine heavens of Halera..." Perceous then fell silent for a moment before placing his top back on and taking his seat.

Perceous kept looking at his feet as he was sat with Lucy almost ready to break down and cry for him but just then a few figures appeared at the entrance of Perceous's 'home' with one calling out in a slight accent... "Vuell Purceous, have you glott our vament...?"


End file.
